With the ground apt to warm up to 110 degrees or so, and a greenhouse effect inside the glass bubble of the cockpit, … the pilot has to endure temperatures that may exceed 120 degrees. Laurence Gonzales
2
a
: something that lacks firmness, solidity, or reality
A dream of what thou wast … a breath, a bubble … William Shakespeare
b
: a delusive or fraudulent scheme or undertaking—often used in the capitalized names of specific bubbles
At about the same time as the South Sea episode, France was going through a financial lunacy of its own, the so-called Mississippi Bubble. Stocks in a fanciful scheme for developing the Louisiana wilderness rose so rapidly that, in 1719, an investment of a few thousand livres yielded millions in a matter of weeks. Kevin Jackson
3
: a sound of or like that of bubbling or gurgling liquid
bubbles of laughter
The pauses in the dull beating of the surf were filled up by … the cold faint bubble of the brook over its stony bed. Wilkie Collins
: a state of booming economic activity (as in a stock market) that often ends in a sudden collapse
With Wall Street otherwise limping along, the health-care industry is making investment bankers feel better than they have since the tech bubble burst. Linda Stern
… the housing bubble, which allowed working-class and middle-class families to raise their standard of living despite income stagnation or downward job mobility. Don Peck
6
: the condition of being at risk of exclusion or replacement (as from a tournament)—usually used in the phrase on the bubble
teams still on the bubble for the playoffs
7
a
: an enclosed or isolated sphere of experience or activity in which the like-minded members of a homogeneous community support and reinforce their shared opinions
the liberal/conservative bubble
Countless people … complain that Facebook employees are increasingly living in a bubble. Nick Bilton
b
: a usually small group of people (such as family members, friends, coworkers, or classmates) who regularly interact closely with one another but with few or no others in order to minimize exposure and reduce the transmission of infection during an outbreak of a contagious disease : podentry 4 sense 2
A quarantine bubble is a group of individuals or families whose members have been safely quarantining and who can now start hanging out with other observant groups, so long as the families observe safety guidelines and agree to be exclusive. Jennifer Weiner
If students suspect that they have the virus or test positive, they will move into a separate isolation housing complex, and university officials will trace their contacts. After the second round of testing, students will be expected to remain in designated cohorts or social bubbles, limiting contact with others. Danielle Echeverria
c
: an area within which sports teams stay isolated from the general public during a series of scheduled games so as to prevent exposure to disease and that includes accommodations, amenities, and the location at which the games are held
In the days leading up to the NBA's Florida reboot, New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick contemplated what provisions to bring for a stay in the Orlando bubble that would last at least five weeks. He initially focused only on the necessities and packed light. Then on July 8, once he arrived with the Pelicans at their appointed hotel, the Yacht Club, Redick gauged his room and hotel amenities. Baxter Holmes
The NHL "bubble" consists of limited areas in two hub cities—Edmonton and Toronto—where team personnel will be required to remain as the league tries to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Each club is taking up one floor in a designated hotel. Other access areas include arenas, practice facilities, dining destinations (hotel restaurants and bars, and conference areas where food is brought in) and "other demarcated areas (indoor and outdoor)," according to the league's Phase 4 protocols. Tom Gatto
d
: a series of scheduled games that is played between sports teams staying in a bubble
Oklahoma City … has already clinched a playoff spot and is 3-3 in the bubble.Reuters
Noun They saw air bubbles in the water. There were bubbles in the ice. The Internet stock bubble finally burst. Verb the soapy water bubbled down the drain
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Scientists learned to encapsulate the mRNA inside a bubble-like particle. Matthew Herper, STAT, 1 Sep. 2022 The volunteers first reclined under the bubble-like hood for 45 minutes to provide a baseline measurement. Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Aug. 2022 From a two-level home balancing on a spherical base in the middle of nowhere to a bubble-like build that hovers over water between two massive rock formations, the concepts take advantage of the metaverse’s lack of physical boundaries. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 28 July 2022 About the size of a low-slung compact sedan and shaped like a windswept teardrop, its tiny, bubble-like frontal area contrasts with a substantial side profile that stretches over a 110.2-inch wheelbase. Mike Sutton, Car and Driver, 24 July 2022 Saturday night while at my favorite place on earth (in the bubble bath), my beautiful love got on one knee and proposed. Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE.com, 17 July 2022 After announcing her engagement to Ben Affleck in early April, Jennifer Lopez revealed the story of his bubble bath proposal in her newsletter, On the JLo. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 19 June 2022 The Tar Heels were on the NCAA Tournament bubble at the start of March. Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2022 Pope said the team might be playing a bit more loosely right now as opposed to the final two months of the regular season, when every game felt like a must-win due to BYU’s status on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Alex Vejar, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 Mar. 2022
Verb
Columbus enrolls more than 46,000 students — and comes as strike threats bubble up in other districts around the country. Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2022 One possibility is that the uninfected children were struggling emotionally—which could bubble up as physical ailments. Shannon Hall, Scientific American, 25 Aug. 2022 But the odds are not necessarily in investors’ favor—next time markets bubble up again, Mr. Son’s brash style may resurface as well. Jacky Wong, WSJ, 8 Aug. 2022 Unexpected results would often bubble up, ranging from hilarious misunderstandings to strange interpretations — or just wrong guesses. Bob Bonniol, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2022 Another Georgia three-and-out did nothing to dim whatever celebration might have been starting to bubble up in Tuscaloosa.New York Times, 4 Dec. 2021 As the story progresses, full-bodied textures bubble up and crescendo. Cathy Applefeld Olson, Billboard, 25 July 2022 Media days will bubble the battle back to the surface, however, at least for a few interviews. Brent Zwerneman, San Antonio Express-News, 17 July 2022 These conditions bubble up in neighborhoods, leading to a higher likelihood of law enforcement interactions, Ormseth said.San Francisco Chronicle, 29 June 2022 See More